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State Library

Of South Australia

Collection Development

Policy

Revised edition

February 2006

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State Library of South Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data State Library of South Australia

Collection development policy of the State Library of South Australia. Revised edition. 'Chair of Editorial Committee: Tony Leschen, Manager Collection Development Includes index. 1. State Library of South Australia. 2. Collection development (Libraries) - South Australia - Policy statements. 3. State Libraries - Collection development - South Australia. I. Leschen, Tony. II. Libraries Board of South Australia. III Title.

025.218759423 © Libraries Board of South Australia, 2006

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Contents Foreword 4

Introduction 5

Published South Australiana (introduction) 6

South Australian monographs 8

South Australian newspapers 9

South Australian serials 10

South Australian ephemera 11

South Australian non print 12

Online South Australiana 13

South Australian geospatial (maps) 15

Named South Australiana collections 17

Archival South Australiana (introduction) 18

Archival collection 20

Pictorial collections 22

Oral history 23

General Reference (introduction) 25

General Reference by subject 28

Electronic information* 36

General geospatial (maps) 38

General newspapers 40

Government publications 41

Family history 43

Rare books 44

Children’s Literature Research Collection 46

Named collections 47

Donations 50

Withdrawal of library materials 51

Appendices 53

Index 60

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Foreword I am pleased to present a revision of The Collection Development Policy of the State Library of South Australia, which was first published in 1995. The State Library has a primary role of collecting, preserving and providing access to the story of South Australia through published and unpublished texts, images, audio visual and other information media. The State Library is also committed to providing the widest possible access to information for all South Australians whether they visit the State Library in person, via the Internet or by telephone or are seeking information through their local public library. Reference, research and document delivery services are provided by the State Library to public libraries and their clients free of charge. The strong partnership with public libraries will be developed further through a range of collection development and other initiatives. The State Library also contributes holdings information to the Libraries Australia database and, where possible, provides document delivery access to collection materials for libraries throughout Australia and around the world. In fulfilling these roles, the State Library supports several key elements of South Australia’s Strategic Plan, particularly in relation to life-long learning, economic development and the creation of a knowledge economy. The State Library is also committed to working collaboratively with other Libraries and

collecting institutions, through membership of peak bodies such as the Council of Australian

State Libraries, to ensure that Australia’s documentary heritage is preserved, to provide

quality reference and research services and to assist in the provision of public library services

to the people of Australia.

This document describes The State Library’s collection policy as it has evolved to meet the challenges of changed client expectations and altered patterns of collection use resulting from the information revolution brought about by the Internet. It is intended to provide all State Library clients and staff and other libraries with a clear understanding of the State Library’s collection development priorities. It also forms part of the public accountability of the State Library of South Australia to the people of the state whose taxes fund it. The Collection Development Policy will be updated as changing circumstances require and will be primarily published online. Enquiries, comments and suggestions from anyone with an interest in the further development of the collections of the State Library of South Australia are welcomed. Alan Smith Director

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Introduction The Libraries Board of South Australia is a statutory authority operating under the provisions of the Libraries Act 1982; it administers the State Library and Public Library Services, and is responsible to the Minister for the Arts. Section 35 of the Act determines legal deposit*, which defines publisher responsibility to lodge copies of material published in South Australia with the Libraries Board. The State Library undertakes to preserve for posterity and make accessible any material supplied through this means. The State Library is also the major repository for unpublished non-government archival records of South Australian historical interest. Under the Act, the Libraries Board is also required to ensure “that the community has available to it adequate research and information services providing access to library materials and information stored in libraries and other institutions both within and outside the State”. This determines State Library collection development policy for non-South Australian published material. The three main categories of collection: Published South Australiana, Archival South Australiana and General Reference are described separately in this document. The new section on Electronic Information reflects a strong commitment to meeting client demand for information in this format– delivered to remote as well as walk-in users where this is possible. The new Donations Policy defines the Library’s commitments to prospective donors and indicates the conditions under which donations are accepted, the processes involved in assessment and acquisition as well as the types of material generally not accepted. The Withdrawals Policy is a major revision of the Retention Policy (1998). This will form the basis for an ongoing process of assessing marginal non-preservation collection materials for withdrawal to provide maximum space for growth of priority collection materials. A number of categories of material that will be assessed for withdrawal are described. The need to work cooperatively with other collecting institutions and publishers to preserve electronically published South Australiana is highlighted in the new section on Online South Australiana. Associated costs (for storage, processing, preservation, conservation and reformatting) as factors in the assessment of potential additions to collections are also given greater emphasis than previously, particularly for unpublished materials. The particular challenges now associated with collecting geo-spatial data (maps) and making them accessible are described in some detail. The appendices include an activity analysis of the archival record groups, a description of the categories assigned in appraisal of archival donations and graphs showing acquisition trends for the major categories of general collection material since 1993. The capacity of the State Library to meet all of the collecting intentions described in this policy is limited by a significant reduction in purchasing power since the early 1990s. Current collecting is tailored to this reality. Collection areas that would be significantly developed if funds were increased include electronic information resources (potentially in collaboration with public libraries and other library sectors), monographs* (including electronic books) and overseas newspapers.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

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PUBLISHED SOUTH AUSTRALIANA The South Australiana Collection (also known as the Mortlock Library of South Australiana) is the definitive collection of published South Australiana. The Collections consist of material published in South Australia and material published elsewhere of particular South Australian relevance, including books whose authors are South Australian. Published South Australiana is collected in all physical formats and includes electronic publications in physical formats such as CD-ROM. Collection strengths include general, local and family history, politics, women's issues, social life and customs, religion, the arts, music and early writings on Aboriginal language and culture. Material in languages other than English, sound recordings, antiquarian publications and titles of South Australian relevance published outside South Australia are collecting priorities. All editions of all South Australian newspapers are collected. The State Library is responsible for preserving all South Australian published material lodged with it through legal deposit. Legal deposit South Australian published material is primarily acquired by legal deposit. The Libraries Act (1982)* section 35 requires the publisher to deposit with the Libraries Board a copy of any item published in South Australia to ensure that it will survive for use by future generations of researchers. A publication can be: “a book, newspaper, magazine, journal, pamphlet, single sheet item, map, plan, chart, table, printed music, record, cassette, compact disk, CDROM, software, film, video or audio tape, disk or other item, made available to the public to store and facilitate the reproduction of visual images, sound or information, but does not include a second or subsequent edition of any such material that does not differ from a former edition published in South Australia or prescribed material, or material of a prescribed class.” Legal deposit does not currently apply to virtual publications (publications that only exist online or as an electronic file distributed via email). See the section on Online Publications (p. 13) for further information. Donations Donations are relied on to fill gaps in the South Australian published collections, and to provide additional “use” copies of high interest titles so that the preservation copy remains in the best possible condition. (For further information see the Donations Policy p. 50.) Purchase Limited funds are available for purchasing material not subject to legal deposit. Additional “use” copies of high interest titles may also be purchased. * See http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Catalog/legislation/Acts/l/1982.70.htm

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Exclusions Duplicates are not generally collected. Exceptions include titles in high demand, ready reference material, maps, newspapers, selected non-print publications and fragile or rare material. Copies, particularly photocopies, reprints and editions without change, are not generally collected. Some categories of material - including very limited circulation or local interest serial publications, study course work and most types of ephemera - are collected representatively rather than comprehensively. Formed collections of South Australian published material will only be accepted if they are truly exceptional. Client base General clients Including readers with interests in family and local area histories. Researchers, writers and historians The South Australian published collections are an essential resource for research into all aspects of South Australian history and culture, including family, social and local area history. Students Secondary and tertiary students requiring information specific to South Australia on topics such as Aboriginal studies, Architecture and Social Studies are assisted by the published South Australiana Collections. Considerable use is made of newspapers on microfilm as primary resource material. The South Australian public library network Preservation collection items are not available for inter-library loan. Copies may be supplied to libraries (through the document supply service) within copyright constraints and preservation requirements. Access All preservation items are in closed access areas and can only be consulted under supervision. Copying from these items can be provided if they meet standard copyright constraints and preservation requirements and if no use or surrogate copy is available. To make the collections more accessible, copying programs and provision of alternative formats are a priority. An active microfilming program exists for South Australian newspapers and some historic periodicals. A number of notable and unique collection items have also been digitised and are available online. The majority of the published collections are accessible to all. In some cases written permission to view may be required from the publishers. Examples are: sensitive material, such as Police Department gazettes, material subject to pending legal proceedings and material distributed to a strictly limited audience.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MONOGRAPHS Most South Australian monographs* are produced by non-commercial publishers, such as government agencies, societies and individuals. The growth of desktop publishing is a notable feature of book publishing since the early 1990s. Often this material has very limited circulation and limited print-runs and much of it is deemed to be a pamphlet (less than 100 pages). Collecting intentions Legal deposit monograph titles will continue to be collected comprehensively. Monographs published outside South Australia and written by a South Australian author, or with significant South Australian content will be acquired through donation or purchase. Antiquarian or out-of-print South Australian monographs not already held will continue to be actively sought through purchase or donation. Electronic books published in physical formats will be acquired through legal deposit. (For a brief description of policy on online electronic books see South Australian Online Publications, p. 13.)

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS The State Library is committed to the National Plan for Australian Newspapers (NPLAN), which aims to ensure that all Australian newspapers are preserved, made available on microform and/or digitally, and made bibliographically accessible. The State Library is responsible for the ongoing microfilming of all current South Australian newspapers. The collection is comprehensive in South Australian current and past titles, in hard copy. The earliest title is the South Australian gazette and colonial register (1836-1839). All major South Australian newspapers, including country newspapers, have been microfilmed to 1950 and filming of all current titles is ongoing. Some major titles remain unfilmed for a period between 1950 and the early 1990s. A long term re-filming program is also underway to replace some sub-standard externally produced film of pre-1950 issues with preservation-standard film. Selection of titles for additional microfilming is based upon conservation priority, condition, level of use, availability of originals to copy and financial considerations including the capacity to gain funding support or recoup some costs through sales. Access Because newsprint is fragile, the preservation copy is only accessed under exceptional circumstances if there is a microfilm or a duplicate (use) hard copy set. Microfilm copies are all on open access, with ready access to self-service reader printer copying facilities. Photocopying of bound newspapers is not permitted, but other types of photographic reproduction may be allowed, subject to the condition of the item, availability of negatives and copyright constraints. Collecting intentions All editions of major newspapers, country newspapers and community newspapers will continue to be collected. South Australian newspaper publishers generally supply two gratis copies of each edition with the legal deposit copy. (One of these copies is microfilmed; another is used for current browsing, while the legal deposit copy is placed in preservation storage upon receipt). Publishers will be encouraged to continue to provide these additional copies to facilitate reformatting and preservation of South Australian newspapers. To ensure access to the best possible copies of historic South Australian newspapers for filming purposes or to replace or supplement existing copies in poor condition, donor offers of additional copies of these will be considered.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SERIALS This category includes magazines, newsletters and annual reports, mostly produced by state and local government agencies, societies and businesses. Serial titles published in South Australia for state or national level readership are comprehensively collected. Representative examples of low circulation, local interest serial publishing such as newsletters produced by schools, local sporting clubs, religious groups and the local branches of service clubs are also collected. School annual magazines are sought in preference to weekly or monthly newsletters, and, similarly, annual reports for social groups and clubs are favoured over weekly newsletters. Material published by educational institutions, such as tertiary course-work information or study guides that lack specifically South Australian content, is also collected selectively. Some serial titles with significant South Australian content but published interstate, such as the Adelaide Crows and Port Power editions of the AFL Football Budget, are purchased. All serial titles collected are retained permanently. Collecting Intentions A comprehensive collection of state and national level South Australian serial publications and a representative collection of low circulation, local interest titles will continue to be developed.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN EPHEMERA Ephemera are everyday items such as theatre posters and advertising flyers, not produced for sale. Their intrinsic value is in the information they provide about social life, the development of industries (for example, printing or paper making), the provision of services or aspects of cultural change. Ephemera may be the only printed record of an organisation, event or activity. The collection includes posters, theatre programs, flyers, brochures and menus and reflects the social customs and etiquette of South Australians from the early days of the colony to the present day. It also provides a valuable record of the arts, businesses, organisations and fringe groups in South Australia. Collecting intentions Ephemera publications are not collected comprehensively. In most instances representative samples are acquired, with a higher priority being given to collecting material relating to major special events such as the Adelaide Festival of Arts. Fringe groups that may otherwise be unrepresented in the State Library are also a priority. Items of realia*, such as badges and fans, are not actively sought. * See Glossary, Appendix Five

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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN NON-PRINT (AUDIO VISUAL) MATERIAL The non-print collection features a wide variety of formats, including cassettes, cylinder recordings, microforms, 78 rpm disks, videos, vinyl records (7, 10 and 12 inch) and reel-to-reel films. Earliest items in the collection are a number of Peter Dawson cylinders from 1902. The 1989 change to the legal deposit legislation, which incorporated non-print publications in the definition, has led to a fast growing, increasingly diverse, collection of published non-print including recorded music, spoken word and film. The Act states that “a record, cassette, film, video or audio tape, disk or other item made available to the public, designed to store and facilitate the reproduction of visual images, sound or information” should be deposited. The growth in self-published audio visual material has been greatly aided by technological developments such as writeable CD-ROM and DVD. Self-published material is collected as extensively as possible given the difficulty in identifying this material and, occasionally, in locating the publisher. Electronic publications Computer files, software, electronic books and databases originating in South Australia are collected and preserved providing they are published in a physical form such as CD-ROM, DVD, or computer disk. The collection also includes games developed for use on PCs and Playstations, for example those produced by the Adelaide based company RATBAG Games. Access Because many non-print formats require outmoded equipment or software, it will not always be possible to provide access. Where no use copy exists, an in-house copy will be produced on request. Depending on the technical requirements, this involves a turnaround time of at least five working days. Audiovisual material is used in the audiovisual listening booth, which must be booked in advance. Access to electronic publications is by prior arrangement only, with a minimum forty-eight hour turnaround, and may depend on availability of the technology and software they require. Digital copies of any software or content that would infringe copyright or compromise the commercial interests of the depositor will not be provided. Collecting intentions The State Library will continue to collect South Australian published audio visual material, including self-published recordings and electronic publications, as near comprehensively as possible. Second copies may be purchased for client use.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

Preservation of South Australian online publishing is a major challenge that it is neither possible nor desirable for the State Library to attempt to meet in isolation. Collaboration with a range of partners is essential.

Legal Deposit

The current Libraries Act refers only to physical items in relation to legal deposit and does not

include online publishing or electronic documents circulated via e-mail. It is currently

necessary for the State Library to gain permission from publishers to archive online

publications.

A review of this situation is required, with possible outcomes including a draft amendment to

the Act broadening the scope of legal deposit to include online publishing, if this is deemed to

be an appropriate course to take.

Scanned images

Much online publishing consists of Word documents or scanned images of print material in portable document format (PDF)). Where this material is still published in hard copy, the State Library will continue to focus on acquiring it in that form through legal deposit. If scanned images are only distributed online, the State Library will selectively acquire them and may print them for storage in hard copy or store them electronically after seeking permission from the publisher.

Born-digital Content that is created purely for online access and has no separate existence in hard copy – including websites, some electronic journals and Web-logs (commonly known as Blogs) – is referred to as born-digital. The State Library does not have the resources to preserve this material alone, and will work in partnership with other libraries and archives and with the publishing sector to develop policies, strategies, technologies and standards to enable important born-digital publications to be preserved. PANDORA The State Library is a partner in PANDORA (Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia). Initiated by the National Library, this project seeks to archive selected born-digital publications, including any sound and moving images, in a form that resembles the original as closely as possible. Contributing to PANDORA is likely to be the primary means of preserving and providing access to South Australian online publications for some time, possibly in tandem with other collaborative approaches as they develop. Collecting Intentions The State Library selects websites using guidelines based on those developed by the National Library for PANDORA:

° A significant proportion of the work should be about South Australia

° Generally the item must be available online only

° Sites associated with significant South Australian events such as the Adelaide Festival of

Arts are a priority

° High priority is given to authoritative publications with long-term research value

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° State Government publications only available online and intended for public distribution

will be collected comprehensively. However, organisational records and drafts will not be

included

° Online electronic books will be a collection priority. Online access to the archived copy of

commercially produced (pay-for-view) electronic books may be restricted or embargoed to

ensure that the publishers commercial rights are protected

° Educational sites will only be selected if they are particularly interesting in terms of

presentation or content. Some award winning school sites may be archived as

representative examples

° Online exhibitions may be selected if no printed catalogue is available, or if the online

version demonstrates significant additional features, including historical or interpretive

information

° Official community sites will be selected if the focus is information about the experiences,

activities and concerns of the South Australian community

° Substantial literary works (e.g. novels, poetry or short stories) will be considered for

archiving regardless of whether the author is previously established in print

° Organisational sites are selected on a very limited basis and must contain substantial

information not available elsewhere (e.g. in published annual reports)

° Personal sites are selected on a very limited basis if they provide information of

outstanding research value unavailable elsewhere or are of exceptional quality or display

features of particular interest

° Official sites documenting religious views of South Australians may be selected. Sites that

publish personal expressions of religious faith will not be selected

° Documents and serials distributed via email as portable document format (PDF) files or

similar will be considered for archiving if they meet the general criteria for selection.

Exclusions

° Drafts and works in progress

° Promotional sites and advertising

° Sites that mostly consist of links to other sources

° Organisational records

° Theses (at this stage, regarded as the responsibility of the Australian Digital Theses

Project).

Other publications not considered authoritative but that provide an example of the way South

Australian society and culture are represented on the Internet will be chosen selectively.

Conclusion

These collecting intentions are an ideal that the State Library does not have the resources to achieve at present. Many technical and logistical barriers to archiving certain kinds of file published on the Internet also exist.

It is essential that the State Library work collaboratively with the National Library, other collecting institutions, the State Government and the South Australian Internet community to develop strategies, technologies, policies and standards for preserving online content.

In addition to the PANDORA approach, which has to be highly selective, a “quick and dirty” method of capturing the entirety of South Australian online publishing at regular intervals is required. This is more likely to occur in the context of a national approach to capturing the entire Australian Web domain with the National Library taking a leadership role.

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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION (MAPS & GEODATA)

Geospatial information is information that can be related to a location on the Earth’s surface. Geospatial information resources comprise a range of formats including manuscript, printed and electronic maps. Developing technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS)* and the Internet now provide tools for graphically representing the Earth, capturing, storing, searching and displaying spatial data, and for producing and distributing and retailing geospatial information. Although the storage and management of geospatial information within digital databases is tending to make the concept of map series titles obsolete, the terminology “map series” and “non-series maps” has continued to be used within this document. Vast quantities of geospatial information with South Australian coverage are now available - mostly as ‘on demand’ or customised digital datasets or printouts. These are significantly more expensive and complex to manage than traditional mapping, and are not available via legal deposit. Rapid developments in technology have resulted in the need to constantly monitor new geospatial information formats and software, and may require amendment of this present policy to cater for newly emerging technologies for the production and distribution of geospatial information. Existing collection The State Library has a comprehensive collection of South Australian published mapping in hard copy. The hard copy or sheet map collection consists of map series (in paper maps, transparencies and negatives) and non-series or single issue sheet maps, including printed ‘on demand’ or customised maps – with South Australian coverage. The collection covers a wide range of subject areas or themes, with an emphasis on general or topographic mapping. To ensure that a copy of a high demand map is preserved, two copies have been collected. The second copy is deemed to be the use copy. More recently, the collection has evolved to include geospatial digital data, and the software and tools required to access this data. Collecting intentions The collection and management of geospatial information resources and making them readily accessible to clients is a complex area requiring additional funds and development of expertise, staffing resources and storage and computing capacity. It is intended that comprehensive collecting of South Australian mapping continue, although collection of ‘on demand’ and customised maps and datasets is currently limited due to resourcing constraints.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five.

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Formats acquired will be determined by demand, availability, cost and the requirements for processing, storage and preservation and access:

Hard copy

° Published sheet maps, including map series and non-series or single issue maps

° Printed ‘on demand’ and customised maps generated from geospatial information

resources

° Manuscript maps.

Digital

Geospatial digital data is sourced from scans of hard copy maps and geospatial information

resources, including spatial information databases, remote sensing imagery and aerial

photography collections maintained by Government and commercial map producers.

Born-digital files and scans of hard copy South Australiana maps will be acquired as raster*

data or Geographical Information Systems (GIS)* datasets in a variety of file formats.

Mapping software and tools will be acquired to access this data and to make use of the

geographic information capabilities they provide.

Series collected

° All available published and freely available South Australian series and South Australian

coverage in available Australian and world series

° ‘On demand’ series maps and datasets with South Australian coverage, with a focus on

providing some level of topographic coverage of all of the state, with more detailed

coverage of the Adelaide region

° A representative sample of customised series maps and datasets with South Australian

coverage available from the geospatial information resources maintained by Government

and commercial map producers.

A collection of digital versions of out of copyright map series sheets (printed paper sheets,

dyelines, transparencies & negatives) will continue to be developed.

Non-series collected

° All available published and freely available maps and datasets with South Australian

coverage distributed by Government mapping agencies

° A representative sample of published and freely available maps and datasets with South

Australian coverage distributed by commercial map suppliers

° A representative sample of ‘on demand’ and customised maps and datasets generated

from the geospatial information resources maintained by Government and commercial

map producers

° Significant manuscript maps with South Australian coverage or created by South

Australians.

A collection of digital versions of out of copyright single issue maps (printed paper sheets,

dyelines, transparencies & negatives) will continue to be developed.

All available editions will be retained. A second copy of high use maps and datasets will also

be retained.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five.

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NAMED SOUTH AUSTRALIANA COLLECTIONS

A number of historically significant discrete South Australiana collections are held. These are

mainly small, finite collections which, as with other preservation material, can be consulted in

the Mabel Somerville Reading Room.

Angas [G.F.] Collection: Collected mainly by George Fife Angas, they include bound volumes

of pamphlets on emigration, colonisation, population and commerce.

Bank of South Australia Collection: Originally collected for the 'edification' of the bank staff,

the 650 volumes consist largely of classical texts in English, as well as books on commerce,

economics, science, travel, religion and literature.

Gouger Collection: Consists of the 34 remaining books of the first library to come to South

Australia. The books are of a practical nature and include advice to emigrants to other British

colonies.

Griffin Press Collection: From 1960/1961 to 1990 the Griffin Press, a leading Australian

printing firm, presented one copy of most of the books it printed to the State Library. It

includes both South Australian and non-South Australian works and represents a variety of

printing styles and designs.

Hassell Press Collection: This incomplete collection comprises books and pamphlets printed

by this Adelaide printing house, which operated from 1885 to 1954.

Libraries Board of South Australia Collection: From 1917 to 1979, the Libraries Board

published many facsimile editions of the works of Australian explorers, and other historically

significant South Australian and Australian works. The Libraries Board also published

original monographs - including bibliographies - and periodicals such as Pinpointer, South

Australiana and Miscellanea musicologica.

F.W. Preece Collection: This collection consists of over 40 monographs, periodicals and

catalogues of art exhibitions published by the Preece company from 1907 to 1971.

Queen Adelaide Collection: The 17 volumes in this collection once belonged to Queen

Adelaide. They were given to Augustus Short, Adelaide's first Anglican bishop, in 1878, who in

turn presented the books to the South Australian Institute, a forerunner of the State Library of

South Australia.

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ARCHIVAL SOUTH AUSTRALIANA Archival (unpublished) South Australiana is held in the Archival, Pictorial and J.D. Somerville

Oral History Collections. Together these form a unique and substantial resource for primary

research on the social, cultural, economic and political history of the state (and of the

Northern Territory prior to 1911).

The State Library does not collect state or local government records - which are the

responsibility of State Records, or those created by the Commonwealth Government (which

are collected by National Archives of Australia).

Archival records may require considerable storage space as well as conservation, re-housing

and reformatting. Records may also require significant staff-time for the assessment,

rearrangement and description necessary to make them accessible. The extent of these

requirements may determine whether records are accepted.

Processes and technology for storing born-digital archival material are being developed.

The State Library supports the principle that archival record groups should not be split

unnecessarily across different collecting institutions and will refer prospective donors to a

more appropriate institution if this possibility arises.

Client Base

Because archival records are primary source material they are of particular value for

historians carrying out original research into all aspects of South Australian history.

Many archival records are extremely useful for genealogical research.

Architectural plans and photographs of historic buildings are widely used by architects,

students and the general public.

Use of the collections at any given time reflects current trends in historical and other research

requiring primary source material.

Donations

Most archival records are donated, and are assessed for historical rather than monetary value.

Rare and valuable items may attract a tax benefit through the Cultural Gifts Program of the

Australian Taxation Office, requiring assessment by appropriately registered valuers. The

State Library will advise the donor on this process but cannot pay valuer fees (which are tax-

deductible).

In some instances donors have provided funding to support the arrangement, housing and

description of donated records - a notable example of this being the Holden Collection. This

kind of support may be a necessary precondition for enabling large groups of records to be

made accessible within a specified time frame.

Purchasing

A small portion of the recurrent materials budget may be available for purchase of items

offered for sale.

Expensive items will only be purchased if sufficient bequest funds, monetary donations or

funding support from sources such as the National Cultural Heritage Account can be found.

Appraisal

Appraisal is carried out by specialist State Library staff with reference to the Collection

Development Policy in the context of existing collections and with consideration given to the

staff-time, storage, conservation and other costs associated with acquiring and processing the

records.

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The appraisal process establishes whether an unpublished item or group of records

contributes sufficiently to documenting the social, cultural, economic and political history of

the state to justify permanent preservation.

Appraisal also determines the processing priority for material that is accepted.

See Appendix One for further description of appraisal criteria.

Legal agreement

A legal agreement transferring custody of archival records to the Libraries Board is

mandatory. The Board is the legal entity that holds all State Library collections on behalf of

the Crown.

The agreement specifies any restrictions the donor requires for access, copying and

publication of the donated material. In a minority of cases, access and copying is only

possible with written permission from the donor.

Where possible, the State Library will seek to acquire copyright via the legal agreement to

ensure that future researchers are not disadvantaged by an inability to locate the copyright

holder to gain permission to quote extracts from the records.

Access

The State Library prefers that no unnecessary restrictions on access be imposed, but accepts

that certain sensitive materials will require access restrictions and will ensure adherence to all

such restrictions specified in legal agreements.

All archival material can only be viewed in the Mabel Somerville Reading Room. Offsite

archival material is retrieved twice weekly and clients are advised to request these in advance.

Embargos

Some records containing information that is particularly private or sensitive may require an

embargo period and will not be accessible under any circumstance until the end of that

period.

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THE ARCHIVAL COLLECTION

The Archival Collection contains the unpublished papers and records of individuals,

businesses and community organisations (including churches, political parties, unions and

professional and special interest groups).

Records date from the early colonial period of the 1830s, to the present day. In some cases,

items held in family and personal record groups predate white settlement in South Australia.

While these records are predominantly paper-based they also include photographs, films,

videotapes, sound recordings, maps, architectural plans, posters, artworks, computer disks

and other formats. It is expected that born-digital records will become predominant in the

future.

Artefacts may be accepted where they support documentary records.

Where possible, library staff will provide advice and written guidelines to assist donors in

preliminary selecting, sorting and housing of records to reduce the time required for staff to

fully appraise them and to arrange and describe those that are accepted.

Notable archival record groups

Foundation of South Australia: Records of the South Australian Company, William Light, and

George Fife Angas

Exploration: Original papers of William Light, Charles Sturt, Edward John Eyre, Ernest Giles

and others

Anthropology: Papers of C.P. Mountford

Indigenous Australians: Papers of the Aborigines' Friends' Association and papers relating to

the Point McLeay Mission

Literature: Papers of Ian Mudie, Max Harris, Mem Fox and others

Economic Activity: The Holden Collection, records of John Martin & Co

Experiences of war: Many war diaries, letters, photographs and other items relating

primarily to the First and Second World Wars, including activities on the home front

Maritime: The Godson Collection (River Murray Shipping) and the Arbon – Le Maistre

Collection

Women’s suffrage: Papers of Catherine Helen Spence

Pictorial: Searcy Collection of 20,000 historic South Australian related photographs

Political parties: Papers of the Australian Labor Party, Liberal Party, Australian Democrats

and related political figures

Religion: Records of a number of Christian churches, including The Anglican and Methodist

Churches

Other notable record groups: Sir Donald Bradman, Dame Roma Mitchell.

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Summary of archival collection intentions

The State Library will continue to seek proactively the personal, family, society and business

records that document the social, cultural, economic and political history of South Australia.

Priorities for continued selective development:

° Past and present experiences of Indigenous Australians

° Cultural (Performing Arts and Literature)

° Architectural plans and drawings

° Significant Church & Society records

° Major economic activities not well represented

° South Australian political parties and groups.

Priority subjects for targeted development:

° Experiences of migrant and refugee groups

° Non-Christian religions in South Australia

° Experiences of war after 1945, including the home front and anti-war movements

° Water use and conservation

° Industries that are currently poorly represented, including information technology and

defence.

Exclusions

Social groups, sporting clubs, friendly societies and service clubs are well represented, as are

agricultural, pastoral, wine and some manufacturing industries (particularly the automotive

and white-goods industries). Additional records documenting these activities will only be

collected if they are particularly significant.

The State Library may collect personal papers of politicians, but not working papers such as

electoral office records which are the province of State Records or the National Archives of

Australia.

See Appendix Two for an activity analysis of archival record groups.

22

PICTORIAL COLLECTIONS

The Pictorial Collections provide historical and contemporary visual information about all

aspects of life within South Australia (and for the Northern Territory prior to 1911).

It is a documentary collection rather than a collection of photographic art and other art works,

although some images have significant artistic merit and may be the work of photographic

artists.

Most images are unpublished. They are predominantly photographic, but also include original

artworks, lithographs and etchings relating to South Australia.

Acquisition

Pictorial items are acquired mainly through donation. This requires completion of a legal

agreement with the donor. Transfer of copyright to the Libraries Board is preferred.

The Library may also seek to acquire a limited right to reproduce copies of particularly

significant images where copyright remains with a third party.

Acquisition of the original negative is preferred where possible.

Appraisal

All images are subject to appraisal based on the need to provide unique South Australian

visual information with known contextual details such as location, photographer’s name,

identification of any people who may appear in photographs and the approximate date.

Poor quality images will only be accepted if they contain particularly unique and valuable

information.

In general the State Library prefers to acquire individual images selectively from donor offers,

but offers of formed collections will be considered.

Exclusions

Images relating to South Australian Government corporate bodies are directed to State

Records and items that document another state's history are normally transferred to the most

appropriate institution in that state.

Photocopies and newspaper cuttings are not accepted. Unidentified portraits and landscapes

and photographs that duplicate images already held are generally not collected.

Collecting intentions

Unique images of all areas of South Australian social, cultural, political and economic history

are sought with emphasis on:

° Depicting everyday work and leisure activities

° Architecture and townscapes

° Images of notable events in the social and economic development of the state

° Women in public life

° The 1940s and 1950s

° Migrant experiences.

The collection of images documenting the period after 1980 also requires development.

23

J.D. SOMERVILLE ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION

The J.D. Somerville Oral History Collection was formed in 1987 as the central repository for

South Australian oral history materials.

The collection contains recorded interviews (including radio interviews), other unpublished

sound recordings such as live performances and speeches, and accompanying documentation

(transcripts, photographs and summaries) relating to personal experiences of South

Australian life.

Between 1996 and 1998, 300 recordings formerly held in Special Collections were transferred

to the Oral History Collection. These recordings were among 900 hours of recordings made

between 1961 and 1971 by Library staff or researchers. They include extensive recordings of

early Writers’ Weeks and recordings by folklorists.*

In 2000 about half of the Radio 5UV (now Radio Adelaide) tape archive, dating 1974-1999,

was transferred to the State Library for preservation. Over 1,000 tapes of program material

relating to South Australia were selected. The Radio 5UV Folk Cooperative Collection -

unpublished recordings of South Australian folk performances – was acquired in 1993.

Collecting intentions

Emphasis continues to be on providing an oral record of all aspects of the South Australian

experience and particularly the experiences of those who have been poorly represented in

traditional documentary records. These include:

° Low-income earners

° People of non-English speaking background

° Women

° Country people

° Any other community groups identified in gap analysis of the archival collections.

Representative samples of the various uses of oral history, such as academic, commissioned,

local history, community, school, and family history will continue to be acquired.

Original sound recordings are preferred over copies to provide the best available recording

from which preservation copies can be made.

Unaccompanied transcripts may be accepted where the original recordings are either of poor

technical standard or unavailable.

Representative samples of oral history applications with low research value may be accepted,

but will generally not be transcribed.

The Radio Adelaide collection of recordings of folk performances may be added to but is not a

primary focus for further development.

Where the State Library provides the equipment and advice for an oral history project carried

out by a third party, it is required that the original recordings be lodged with the State Library

which undertakes to provide a copy to the donor and may also provide a copy of a transcript.

Partnerships with other organisations for joint development of oral history projects are

actively sought. The State Library will also manage projects for third parties providing the

subject matter relates to collection development priorities and appropriate funding for

interviewers and transcriptions is provided.

*After a review of this collection a small number of recordings with no evidentiary value were withdrawn. The Hazel de Berg recordings, which were mainly duplicates of the collection owned by the National Library, were either repatriated to the National Library or deaccessioned and destroyed. The remaining recordings related to anthropological Named Collections and are being processed as those collections are absorbed by Archival Collections.

24

Assessment

Oral history recordings are assessed to determine their suitability for inclusion in the

collection. Key criteria are:

° Research value of information content

° Existence or absence of recordings that tell a similar story

° Interviewer skill and technical quality of the recordings

° Amount of processing required, including time required to log and transcribe the

recordings

° Unusual access, copying or publishing restrictions imposed by the donor or copyright

holder.

Broadcast material

Selected South Australian broadcast material relating directly to oral history is acquired.

Other recordings, such as speeches, interviews and reminiscences are also selectively collected

if they involve the recounting of first hand experiences by the speaker, are not also available in

documentary form, or are considered important in terms of representing the voice of the

speaker.

Other published sound material is not collected but program material used to produce radio

broadcasts may be included. Speeches and broadcast material are not usually transcribed.

Transcripts Transcripts provide a written record of an oral history recording. The interviewee approves the final transcript text before it is made accessible. “A full transcript is not only the ideal way of making an interview accessible to researchers, but also a process in which the interviewer and interviewee can enhance the value of the interview by correcting and clarifying matters raised during the recording.”* Transcripts may be provided, depending on the anticipated level of interest in the content and on whether funding is available to pay for the process as part of an externally funded project such as the National Library’s Eminent Australians Project, the South Australian component of which is managed by the State Library. Where transcripts are not provided, an interview log enables researchers to locate relevant elements of an oral history recording. Legal agreements A legal agreement with the interviewee - specifying access, copying and publication conditions - is essential. Separate donor agreements with interviewers are also required if they are not employed by the State Library. The State Library prefers that access, copying and publication conditions specified in this agreement are minimal. Ideally, the State Library will acquire copyright to ensure unrestricted long-term access.

* Oral history handbook / by Beth M. Robertson, 4th edition, Oral History Association of Australia (South Australian Branch) Inc., 2000

25

GENERAL REFERENCE COLLECTION

The principal aim in developing this collection is to continue to provide a diverse range of information and self-education resources for South Australians.

Print publications, including monographs*, periodicals and newspapers provide much of the core of the collection but there is a growing reliance on full text databases (see separate section on Electronic Information, p. 36). The State Library aims to provide current monographic texts sufficient to support some self-directed learning in all subject areas. Current print or online periodical titles, sufficient to support senior secondary school and some undergraduate research, are also provided for most subject areas. Australian subjects such as Australian History and Literature and the Australian component of other non-geographically specific subjects are covered at a level that supports significant undergraduate and some postgraduate research, particularly for the Arts and Social Sciences. The collections no longer support significant postgraduate research into current developments in most Science and Technology subjects because much of the periodical publishing is no longer affordable.** The General Reference Collections can support significant historical research in most subject areas because of the strong collection of monographs from the 19th century onwards and the very long runs of many historic periodicals and newspapers. Print bibliographies, indexes and abstracts that have enabled clients to access the holdings of libraries elsewhere through referral and document delivery services have been largely supplanted by online bibliographies and indexes that are frequently linked to full text. The State Library’s ability to provide referral and document delivery services has increased because of the growth of online bibliographic resources and electronic document delivery. Collection development intentions for individual subject areas are provided later in this Section. For collection statistics, follow links to the State Library’s Annual Report from the following page: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?area_id=15&nav_id=667

Access

High use materials are located on open access, where possible. Titles in closed onsite storage are generally retrieved for viewing within an hour of a patron request. Offsite storage material (which is generally low use) is retrieved twice weekly.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

** Much specialist scientific and academic periodical content is also now largely inaccessible to non-

specialist readers and therefore unlikely to be widely used in the State Library. The State Library

provides online indexes for most subjects and can access journal content through document delivery

for those researchers who are not served by university libraries or by libraries supporting scientific

research organisations.

26

Collection items are generally not available for loan, except for inter-library loan of monographs (only for use within a borrowing library). Loans to South Australian public libraries make the monograph collections accessible to all South Australian library users regardless of where they live. Serials, newspapers and other formats are not for loan, but may be copied depending on copyright constraints and their preservation requirements.

Client base

General clients Anyone requiring basic information or access to self-directed learning resources in all fields, with family history, health, non-specialist technical information, current affairs, literature, the arts, and history being popular. The South Australian public library network Information to public library clients is provided via inter-library loan (of monographs) and document delivery of copies of articles from journals and other resources. The State library also provides a free research enquiry service for South Australian public libraries as part of its core services. Students Information ranging from introductory secondary school level to undergraduate research level, particularly in electronic full text, is in considerable demand. Business The General Reference Collection provides clients with a broad range of business information ranging from directories and indexes to online sources providing marketing data, stock exchange reports and newspaper and journal articles.

Types and formats of materials collected

The emphasis is on providing relevant information in formats that suit user preferences. Long term access and collection management requirements may also be considered in determining the most appropriate formats. No formats are excluded but the most common material types are: print monographs, newspapers, periodicals, maps and microform (which remains a preferred medium for compact storage of very large amounts of information such as back sets of newspapers). Information on CD-ROM and DVD is also collected but is generally being supplanted by online resources (see Electronic Information, p. 36). The following types of publication may be collected, as noted: Material for young people Works produced specifically for young people are generally not acquired but some prominent reference works, including electronic resources, accessible to the secondary school level are collected. Film and video Videos and DVD may be acquired if they contribute significantly to the coverage of a subject area, but the State Library is not actively developing a film and video collection (other than for South Australiana). Sound recordings Sound recordings are generally not acquired for the general collections except as an adjunct to a printed resource. Textbooks Monographs intended specifically to support courses of instruction are only acquired when they provide the best (or only) source of information about the subject, or when they are significant reference sources in their own right.

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Languages other than English (LOTE) Most of the material currently acquired for State Library General Collections is written in English. English translations of internationally significant literature have been preferred in the past but some landmark literary works in original languages are now being collected. (For further information, see the section on Languages and Literature, p. 32.) Some specialist material on major subject strengths (including Wine and Maritime) is purchased in the original language if an English translation does not exist. Approximately 30 newspapers in non-English languages selected on the basis of community language demographics are received. Where a demand exists, reference sources, such as dictionaries, grammars and encyclopedias, in languages other then English will continue to be acquired. Other LOTE material, including recreational reading, is widely available for loan from public libraries and is not collected by the State Library. The overall collecting focus will remain mostly on English language materials, with the following exceptions:

° Newspapers in LOTE languages in continuing demand

° Some basic reference and language materials

° Landmark literary works.

Materials budget

The budget allocation for purchasing collection materials has not increased since 1991/1992. Since then, approximately 25% of funds have been redirected to electronic resources and the subscription costs for periodicals still retained have risen by 33%. It has been necessary to cancel approximately 50% of hard copy subscriptions and serial standing orders because of reduced purchasing power and to fund a wide range of online full text information resources. The progressive reduction in expenditure on serial titles will ultimately reach a point where only a relatively small number of core journal titles will remain in hard copy. Expenditure on current national and international newspapers will be increased to the extent that this is possible, to retain the broadest possible collection, while these titles continue to attract high levels of use. (See General Newspapers, p. 40.) The reducing funding component not committed to ongoing subscriptions (which require over 70% of the current budget) is used to maintain current purchasing of core monographic publications, including books and maps.

See Appendix Three for a statistical overview of acquisition trends for major material types.

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GENERAL REFERENCE BY SUBJECT* * Conspectus subject divisions are listed in alphabetical order with the approximate Dewey Decimal Classification ranges. See Appendix Four for further information on Conspectus.

Agriculture 630-639, 712-719

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide current basic introductory coverage with

emphasis on emerging trends in Australian farming methods. Priority topics include:

Aquaculture

Water conservation and salinity

Sustainable agriculture

Organics & soil enhancement

Small-scale farming

Horticulture/gardening

Deposit titles from Australian government agricultural agencies are likely to continue to

provide additional depth. Some subscriptions to relatively specialised Australian agricultural

science periodicals will be retained as long they receive sufficient use and remain affordable.

Some access to online indexes will continue to be provided.

Anthropology 306, 390-399, 572.3

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide basic introductory coverage of anthropology

with emphases on Australia, Indigenous Australians and current issues in social

anthropology.

Periodical coverage will continue to be minimal. Subscriptions to online indexes related to

Indigenous Australians will continue.

Coverage of Australian folklore, costume, etiquette and customs, and those relating to various

community groups in Australia will also be actively developed.

Art and architecture 700-711.9, 720-779

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide strong introductory coverage of art and

architecture, with some emphasis on historical and Australian information, to support

significant reader interest in these subjects.

Developments in art and architectural theory will continue to be covered through acquisition

of key texts.

Subscriptions to several core non-specialist art and architecture periodicals will be

maintained. Some online indexes will be provided.

Biological sciences 570, 574-599

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide basic introductory coverage with emphasis on current developments of general public interest- such as genetic engineering - or of particular Australian relevance –to support secondary and undergraduate study while being generally accessible to non-specialist readers. The small number of core specialist journal subscriptions will be retained while use statistics justify this. Other journal titles will be accessible via online databases and some access to specialist online indexes will be provided.

29

Business, economics and commerce

Business (and management) 650-659

Monograph purchasing will continue to provide basic introductory coverage with an emphasis on Australian titles and key texts selected from the vast number of business and management titles published. Some popular periodicals will continue to be acquired in hard copy with support from several online full text databases.

Economics and statistics 310-319, 330-339

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide a solid accessible introduction to economic theory capable of supporting extension reading for students. Information on countries that are economically important to Australia, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, will be actively sought. The few remaining economics periodical subscriptions, including such core titles as The Economist, will be retained for their current and historical research value. Specialist online index or full text databases are not currently provided and are not a priority. Statistical information will be provided through online resources, where possible. Hard copy non-Australian statistical material may be withdrawn if content becomes readily available online.

Commerce and Communications 380-388

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide basic introductory coverage of current developments in commerce, trade and communications with an emphasis on Australia and on trade information for Australia’s trading partners. Because access to information affecting trade and commerce decision making must be timely and up-to-date, online full text resources - especially those with Australian information - will be actively sought. The Paul McGuire Maritime Library will continue to provide strong coverage of maritime transportation, supported by a range of shipping periodicals and directories including Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.

Chemistry 540-548

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide basic introductory coverage for the non-

specialist reader. Some school and undergraduate level texts may be acquired to provide

necessary up-to-date introductions to elements of the subject.

Specialist print periodicals will not be acquired. A few such titles may be accessible via full

text electronic resources. Some research access through online science indexes will also be

provided.

Computing science 003-006, 621.39

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide basic introductory coverage focusing on titles written for non-professional clients on topics such as commercial software packages, hardware, computer applications, networking and telecommunications with minimal introductory coverage of programming languages. Subscriptions to a range of popular periodicals will continue, with minimal online index coverage.

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Education 370-379

Information about current developments in education theory and practice will continue to be provided through minimal core monographic texts. Priorities for greater development include information on: education of gifted children, home schooling, open-learning systems and the impact of technological developments on learning. Titles aimed specifically at education professionals, such as educational kits and textbooks designed specifically for classroom use, will generally not be acquired. Hard copy handbooks of Australian educational institutions will be maintained where demand is not readily met via the Internet. Australian online indexing will be provided (with full text if affordable and if demand warrants this).

Engineering and technology 527, 600-609, 620-629,

640-648, 660-699

Monograph collecting will continue to focus on introductory, practical and accessible texts intended for non-professional, non-academic readers. Manufacturing product directories will be provided online where possible, although some hard copy Australian directories may be retained for historical research. Solid coverage of current motor vehicle repair manuals and electronics handbooks for the non-professional will be maintained. Specialist print periodicals will no longer be acquired although some reasonably specialised titles will continue to be accessible via full text electronic resources. Some research access through online science indexes will also continue. The Paul McGuire Maritime and Thomas Hardy Wine Libraries will continue to provide additional coverage of nautical engineering and wine. (See Named Collections, p.47.)

Patents

Current Australian and other patents are now freely available online. Patents will no longer be collected in any physical format (print or CD-ROM). To release the substantial storage space they occupy, international hard copy patents that are available online will be progressively withdrawn.

Standards

Australian and other standards are no longer collected in hard copy. A hard copy set of Australian standards (including superseded standards) is held to 1993. Current Australian standards are accessible online via a subscription database. Non-current collections of British and American Standards are held. If alternative access, including online access and document delivery, can be provided, these little-used resources, that also require considerable storage space, may be withdrawn.

31

Generalities and library science

Generalities 001-003, 007-009

Accessible monographs on topics such as knowledge, scholarship and research will be acquired with minimal authoritative titles on controversial knowledge topics (such as UFOs).

Bibliographies 010-019

Current national and subject bibliographies in print formats have been largely superseded by

online databases. Where reliable online resources are available the print subscriptions will be

cancelled and may be withdrawn.

Encyclopedias 030-039

Online encyclopedias will generally be preferred, with the occasional purchase of new editions

of core general encyclopedias such as the Britannica, while they continue to be published in

hard copy.

Journalism 070-099

The monograph collection will continue to provide basic introductory coverage of journalism in theory and practice, with some emphasis on issues of interest to the general reader, such as freedom of the press.

General periodicals 050-059

Subscriptions to the hard copy edition of core general periodical titles will continue while they

remain in demand for current browsing and for historical research.

Organisations 060-068

Online databases and the Internet will generally replace directories of organisations. Hard copy Australian directories will be retained for historical research.

The book 090-099

(See Rare Books, p. 44.)

Library sciences 020-029

Strong monographic coverage of developments in library science, backed by core periodicals

and access to several online resources, will be maintained.

Geography and earth sciences

Geography and travel 910-919

World geography will continue to be covered by introductory monographic texts, with

significantly greater coverage of Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. A broad range of

current travel guides will be provided.

Histories of cartography and map-making will be acquired selectively.

Earth sciences and palaeontology 526, 549, 550-555, 560-569

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide basic introductory coverage. Works on issues of current interest such as global environmental change will be sought. Accessible treatments of current international developments in palaeontology will also receive some emphasis. Australian aspects of mineralogy and geology will have some emphasis on titles produced for amateur gemologists. There will continue to be little specialist periodical or index support apart from coverage provided by more general online science indexes and full text databases.

32

History 900-909, 920-999

Monograph collecting will continue to be near comprehensive in Australian history. Material on current world events will be actively acquired. Trends in current historiography and the methodologies of history will be represented by key texts. Coverage of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East will be developed further. Existing strengths in United States and British history and the World Wars will be maintained through acquisition of relatively small numbers of key new titles from the large publishing output. Basic current monographic histories of other individual countries will continue to be acquired. A wide coverage of Australian and international biographical dictionaries and reference resources will be provided.

Subscriptions to several non-academic periodical titles will continue. Minimal specialist online indexes will be provided, but coverage is provided by several broadly academic and general aggregator* products that include full text content.

Language and literature

Language and Linguistics 400-499

The existing strong monographic coverage of the English language will continue, with a focus on current dictionaries, grammars and style guides. Self-directed English language learning materials, including kits and other resources to support the English Language Learning and Improvement Service (ELLIS), will also continue to be actively acquired. Bilingual dictionaries and grammars will be acquired for languages other than English where there is a demand. A limited number of original language dictionaries and grammars will also be provided for some languages. Non-English language learning kits for English speakers are widely available from public libraries and are not collected by the State Library. Continued development of coverage of Aboriginal languages is a priority. Key texts in linguistic theory and semiotics will be acquired. Specialist periodical coverage of Languages and Linguistics will remain minimal, no specialist indexes will be provided. Both subjects will also continue to receive some coverage in general online full text resources.

Literature 800-899

Literature as a whole will continue to be one of the major subject strengths for the General Reference Collection, supported by access to a wide range of literary journals in hard copy and online. Coverage of Australian literature will continue to support research to postgraduate level. Subscriptions to most major Australian literary periodicals will continue, with active consideration given to significant new titles. Most works by major English language literary figures past and present will be collected, along with selected critical and biographical works. Subscriptions to mainstream overseas literary periodicals in English will continue.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

33

Literature originating in languages other than English will continue to be acquired mostly in English translation, with landmark classics (and some key new works by contemporary writers) in the original language also being collected. Key texts in literary and critical theory will be acquired. (See also Children's Literature Research Collection, p. 46) Law 340-349

The primary focus will continue to be on providing accessible monographic and serial titles relating to the impact of Australian law on ordinary people in areas such as welfare, family and business law. Areas of Australian law relating to current social and political issues - from environmental law to human rights- will also continue to be collecting priorities. Some resources that explain common law, statute law and subordinate legislation will continue to be provided. Coverage of international laws and treaties will continue, mainly through online resources including those provided by the United Nations. Journal access - including online full text through resources like AGIS Plus - may be developed further depending on demand and availability of funding.

Mathematics 510-519

Monographs on the development of numeracy and numerical skills testing - aimed at job and tertiary applicants and on the application of mathematics and statistical methods in everyday life and business - will continue to be the main collecting focus. Textbooks will be purchased where they provide the best introduction to aspects of mathematics and statistics. Specialised periodicals and indexes will not be acquired.

Medicine 610-619

An extensive, balanced introductory monograph collection will continue to be developed,

augmented by selective purchasing of major texts and encyclopedias, to provide current

health information that is accessible to non-professionals and able to support information and

study needs of health care workers and nursing students.

Subscriptions to a small number of core medical journals will remain, but most journal

requirements will be met via a range of full text databases.

Music 780-789

Monograph collecting continues to focus on landmark texts and core reference titles with an emphasis on music history. Several non-academic music periodicals will be provided while use statistics support this and some research support from several non-specialist online resources will also be provided. Australian music, including that of various cultural groups within the Australian community, will continue to be a priority. Works on musical theory and principles as well as texts for the learning musician will be collected very selectively. Popular biographies will be acquired selectively from the large publishing output. Musical scores, sheet music and recorded music will be collected minimally.

34

Performing arts 790-793

Acquisition of basic monographic texts, with some emphasis on Australia and reflecting the cultural diversity of the Australian community, will continue. Some non-academic periodicals subscriptions will continue, with minimal specialist online indexes. Recordings of theatrical and other performances will not be actively collected.

Philosophy and Religion Philosophy 100-129, 140-149, 160-199, Accessible, introductory monographic philosophy texts, with some emphasis on current moral and ethical issues, will continue to be the primary collecting focus. Religion 200-299 Monographs will continue to reflect the diversity of religious groups in Australia – with authoritative titles and reference works being preferred to popular inspirational reading - and with some emphasis on developing coverage of non-Christian and non-traditional religious groups. No specialist indexes will be provided for Philosophy or Religion. Minimal specialist journal coverage will continue to be provided, mainly through general online full text databases.

Physical education and recreation 372.86, 613.7-613.79,

790-790.1, 793-799

Representative popular monographic texts on physical fitness will be acquired, with some

emphasis on topical issues such as women's participation in sports and with minimal selection

of standard key titles on physical education theory and practice.

Monographs on popular sports will emphasise standard works and reference titles rather than

popular biographies. Minimal coverage of indoor games and games of chance will be

maintained with some emphasis on chess.

Subscriptions for a number of popular sport and recreational periodicals will continue.

Minimal specialist online indexes will be provided.

Physical sciences

500-509, 520-525, 528-

529,530-539, 389

Monograph acquisitions will continue to provide basic introductory coverage of the physical

sciences with texts that use mathematical concepts that do not go too far beyond secondary

school level being preferred, along with dictionaries, subject specific encyclopedias and

accessible landmark titles by leading scientific writers.

Current developments in popular subjects such as astronomy and space exploration will

continue to be given some emphasis.

Ephemerides, which are fundamental resources for amateur astronomers, will continue to be

acquired and retained for current and historical research.

Specialist print periodicals will not be acquired. A few such titles may be accessible via full

text electronic resources. Some research access through online science indexes will also be

provided.

35

Political science 320-329, 350-359

Monographic texts on the principal theories of political science, political and legislative

processes will continue to be acquired at a level to support the information needs of general

readers and students.

Texts on Australian politics and international relationships and on topical issues such as

human rights, terrorism and globalisation will be actively acquired. Coverage of public

administration will focus on practical titles.

Alternative political viewpoints will be represented in accordance with the Library’s

commitment to freedom of access to information.*

Some periodical coverage of elements of political science will be provided via general full text

databases.

Interest in military history and science will continue to be catered for with particular

emphasis on Australian military history. Naval warfare is also a major focus for development

of the Paul McGuire Maritime Collection (p. 48).

Psychology 150-159, 130-139

Ongoing reader interest in psychology will continue to be met through introductory texts and

some seminal theoretical works. Minimal non-academic periodical coverage will be

maintained. No specialist indexes will be provided. Topics given some emphasis will include:

Human behaviour and development

Emotional and social problems

Impact of technology on the human

condition

Coverage of paranormal phenomena will continue to be minimal.

Sociology 300-307, 360-369, 649

Monograph collecting will continue to focus on topical issues such as child abuse, refugees, and gerontology and on public health issues such as AIDS and occupational health and safety rather than academic social theory, which will generally be covered by introductory texts with some landmark seminal works. The past collecting emphasis on women’s studies has broadened to reflect a publishing trend towards gender studies and men’s studies; monographs on these topics will continue to be actively acquired. Continuing emphasis will also be given to Indigenous Australians and their culture, and to migrant communities. The collection will continue to be supplemented by online resources and some core periodical titles.

*See Appendix Six

36

ELECTRONIC INFORMATION The State Library has been providing access to electronically published information since the 1980s, and now directs approximately 25% of its materials budget to subscriptions for these resources. Electronic publications are now the preferred method of access for many kinds of information, including business, financial, health and family history research and for literature searches across the information spectrum. Further development of electronic resources and provision of greatly expanded remote access,

is a major collection development priority limited by funding constraints.

Online access

Most electronic information is now published online. CD-ROM is virtually extinct except for small-scale, often non-commercial, publishing on topics such as family history. Advantages of online access include: indexing and abstracting integrated with full text content; greater currency; the possibility of remote access. Online access also reduces the need to install and maintain CD-ROM disks and associated software aw well as eliminating the possibility of permanent loss of access because of hardware and software obsolescence. Online access will be preferred over CD-ROM and other physical formats, depending on cost, reliability and ease of access.

Aggregator databases

Much of the full text electronic information provided to State Library users is scanned from

hard copy periodicals and accessed through aggregator* databases provided by companies

such as Ebscohost and Informit.

Long-term access to full text content on aggregator databases cannot be guaranteed because

agreements between publishers and aggregators are not always renewed and because the

aggregators are commercial enterprises that may fail. However, virtually all of the full text

content originates in hard copy and will be accessible via traditional document delivery

services if it is no longer accessible online.

Most aggregator databases include some titles that have a six or twelve month embargo on full

text access.

Electronic Journals

Journals published electronically and available for subscription as single titles are commonly

expensive and at academic or research levels with an emphasis on science, technology and

medicine. These are generally outside the scope of State Library collecting.

Developments in this area of publishing will be monitored and subscriptions to individual e-

journals will be placed where these are likely to meet identified client needs (and providing

they are affordable).

Electronic books

Hard copy is still the preferred format for monographs because of durability and ease of use.

However, electronic books do offer several potential advantages, including the possibility of

remote access and the enhanced searchability of electronic text.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

37

Online electronic books generally cost at least as much as the hard copy and considerably

more if a permanent licence is purchased.

A small collection of online electronic books will be developed to gauge user interest and

collection management issues, if funding is available.

Electronic books that require a portable hand-held reading device will not be collected, unless

they are published in South Australia. (Electronic books are not covered by current legal

deposit legislation unless they are made available to the public as a physical item such as a

CD-ROM.)

Consortia

The State Library will continue to work in partnership with the National Library and other state libraries (through the Council of Australian State Libraries Consortium) to maximise the range of electronic publications available to its clients. Partnerships with South Australian public libraries and other library sectors - to support maximum remote access to electronically published information through initiatives such as national site licences – will also be developed.

Collecting intentions

The State Library intends to provide clients throughout South Australia with the widest

possible mix of relevant databases, online and full text, where possible.

Remote access will be developed where possible, in partnership with public libraries and other

library sectors as opportunities arise.

Current subscriptions to electronic resources will be regularly assessed for continuing

relevance. Use statistics will be considered before renewals are placed.

Overlap of full text between aggregator databases is usual, so it is necessary to reassess

existing subscriptions against new products as they develop. Aggregator packages will be

cancelled if substantial overlap with other better resources exists, if costs increase

substantially, if access problems arise, or use statistics are insufficient to justify continuing a

subscription.

Because long-term access to online electronic publication is not certain, some absolutely core

periodical titles, such as Nature, or Scientific American will continue to be collected in hard

copy. Core Australian titles will be collected in hard copy even when they are accessible via an

aggregator, particularly if the aggregator has an embargo on current full text.

For the foreseeable future most books will be collected in hard copy rather than electronically.

In some instances, titles will be collected in both formats to provide wider access in the short

term and ensure preservation in the long term.

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GENERAL GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION (MAPS & GEODATA) Geospatial information is information that can be related to a location on the Earth’s

surface. Geospatial information resources comprise a range of formats including

manuscript, printed and electronic maps.

Developing technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS)* and the Internet

now provide tools for graphically representing the Earth, capturing, storing, searching and

displaying spatial data, and for producing and distributing and retailing geospatial

information.

Although the storage and management of geospatial information within digital databases is

tending to make the concept of map series titles obsolete, the terminology “map series” and

“non-series maps” has continued to be used within this document.

The non-preservation collection primarily consists of printed maps and geospatial digital data

for Australia, with some coverage of every country of the world, to the extent necessary to

support the identified client information needs.

Client Groups

Clients include historians, genealogists, students, business, the legal profession, the media

and planners. Maps are also required for recreational activities and travel.

Collecting Intentions

The collection will continue to provide some level of coverage for every country of the world,

and to include a range of mapping formats.

Formats will be determined by the demand, availability, cost and requirements for processing,

storage and preservation and access.

Hard copy

° Published sheet maps, including map series and non-series or single issue maps

° Printed ‘on demand’ and customised sheet maps generated from geospatial information

resources such as spatial information databases maintained by Government and

commercial organisations.

Digital

Geospatial digital data is generated from a range of geospatial information resources,

including spatial information databases, remote sensing imagery and aerial photography

collections maintained by Government and commercial agencies.

The focus will be on the collection of raster* data in a range of file formats. Mapping software

and tools will be acquired to access this data and to make use of their geographic information

capabilities.

Level of coverage for series maps

The collection is based on hard copy and digital map series produced by Government

organisations throughout the world.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

39

Priority areas, themes, chronological coverage and scale ranges are:

° World – general maps - in scale range 1:5,000,000 to 1:500,000 – current and

retrospective editions

° Other states of Australia - general maps - scale to 1:100,000 – current and retrospective

editions

° Australia’s nearest neighbours - e.g. Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand –

general maps - scale to 1:200,000 - latest edition only

° Mapping in demand by South Australian family historians, i.e. United Kingdom, Germany

and Poland - general maps - scale to 1:50,000- in both 19th Century and latest editions

° Areas of interest to South Australian military historians (e.g. Papua New Guinea, the

Middle East, Vietnam) - general maps – scale to 50,000 - editions relevant to the time

period of the conflict.

Scale/level of detail for individual countries will be determined by demand, availability, cost

and requirements for storage and processing.

Level of coverage for non-series maps

° World – a representative sample of general maps of the whole of the world - current and

retrospective editions

° Australia – a representative sample of general and thematic maps of whole of Australia –

current and retrospective editions

° Priority geographical areas (as outlined in the section on series maps) - when map series

are not available.

For digital datasets, all editions will be retained while the format is still compatible with the

Library’s computer network.

Future developments

Rapid developments in technology have resulted in the need for constant review of geospatial

information formats and software, and of this present policy for geospatial information,

including:

° Rationalisation of the general map collection

° Ongoing assessment of Internet and other electronic media opportunities for geospatial

information for collection development, access and preservation

° Making cooperative links with other institutions providing spatial information services.

40

GENERAL NEWSPAPERS

The general newspaper collection is very strong in Australian state and national titles and

selective in current coverage of Australian provincial titles (many of which are gratis and not

held permanently).

International titles are acquired for the coverage they provide of current world events, or for

the provision of news from significant counties in the Asia-Pacific region, or because they

provide news from source countries of substantial numbers of migrants. A number of

international titles are in languages other than English.

Long runs of core Australian and international titles are held (on microfilm in most cases) and

are major primary historical research resources.

A number of Australian published community newspapers, generally in languages other than

English, are also collected.

Online access to text from a range of Australian and international newspapers through several

aggregator* databases is also provided.

Client groups

Users of the collection include historical researchers, members of different cultural groups,

tourists, new arrivals and students. Past surveys have shown that newspapers are the

principal reason for visiting the State Library for 17% of total visitors, making it one of the

most heavily used parts of the collection.

Current Collecting

Because of budget constraints international coverage has declined in recent years, to the point

where Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, the Middle East,

Africa and Latin America are no longer represented by current titles.

Interstate regional newspaper coverage is also declining as publishers cease to provide

publications free of charge.

Collecting intentions

This collection will remain a major priority for continued development within overall budget

constraints while use statistics continue to show that current newspapers are heavily used.

In-depth coverage of current and historic Australian news events through hard copy and

microfilmed newspapers will continue to be provided.

New international titles will continue to reflect a wide range of community interests, with

titles of interest to new community groups a priority. Major international newspapers of

record will also be a priority for continued collection on microfilm and for electronic access.

Electronic alternatives to print will also be actively pursued, particularly where these provide

full image of the hard copy original.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

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GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS Government publications include parliamentary debates, legislation, government gazettes and a wide variety of publications produced by government agencies. They are generally received through schemes that require these agencies to deposit publications with selected libraries to make them broadly accessible. The bulk of the collection is housed separately from the standard Dewey Decimal Classification sequences. Interstate and overseas material is generally stored offsite. In recent years most current and recent Australian and international government publishing has become freely available online. The State Library is committed to ensuring that Australian government publishing is preserved for historical research purposes and prefers to continue to acquire and retain this material in hard copy if possible. The State Library will also work with other state libraries and the National Library and other interested parties to ensure that online government publishing is preserved and remains accessible. International and overseas government publications held by the State Library will be reviewed for online availability and may be withdrawn, with the permission of depositing agencies if this is required. South Australian Government publications

The duplicate collection of current and historic SA Parliamentary titles on open access is supported by the comprehensive preservation collection of parliamentary and other government published material in the South Australiana published collections. The duplicate set will continue to be available on open access in the General Collection. Links to online alternatives will also be provided. Australian Commonwealth Government publications

The collection is comprehensive for Parliamentary material, and is very strong in publications of government agencies, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics. ABS has recently halted deposit of most hard copy titles in preference to free online access. The open access ABS collection may be relegated to storage or assessed for withdrawal if continued online access is assured. The State Library will continue to receive and retain Commonwealth Government publications while they are provided in hard copy, while also providing links to online alternatives.

Interstate

A strong collection of Parliamentary material is held for all states up to the cessation of the Parliamentary Distribution Scheme. Government Gazettes from all states are currently received on subscription – subject to review depending on the availability of free online access. Coverage of other material published by the various State governments is minimal. Historical material already held will be retained.

United Kingdom

British government publications are no longer received on deposit. The collection includes long runs of Parliamentary material and British historic documents published by the Public Record Office and Harleian Society.

42

Most recent British Parliamentary material is now available online; retrospective conversion of historically significant material to online formats will be monitored and parts of the hard copy collection may be withdrawn over time, with the approval of the depositor if this is required. Material relating to important historic events will generally be retained.

United States

This is primarily a collection of Congressional series, some dating from the 19th century. Congressional material on microfiche and some government agency material on CD-ROM are still being received. Because most of the current material is freely accessible online, the State Library will seek to halt receipt of the material still being supplied. Hard copy material that is freely available online may be withdrawn. Approval from the depositor may be required. Earlier material may also be withdrawn if retrospectively digitised.

Material relating to important historic events will generally be retained.

United Nations

A very strong collection of documents published by the General Assembly, the Security Council and the other arms of the United Nations is held. This material dates from the inception of the organisation in 1946 and supports significant historical and current research. The collection is also strong in material published by United Nations agencies and associated international organisations. A significant amount of material published by the League of Nations is also held. Relatively little hard copy UN publishing is now deposited, but there is online access to most publishing, including retrospectively added historic documents. Some material is only accessible via subscriptions to the ODS (Official Document Service) and Treaty Series. These subscriptions will be maintained. Potential exists for older material to be withdrawn providing it is freely accessible online. Approval from the depositor may be required. Material relating to important historic events will generally be retained. Other

Small amounts of non-current material from other countries, such as the Philippines, may be withdrawn, depending on its availability elsewhere in Australia, or online.

43

FAMILY HISTORY

The main focus of the Family History collection is on the provision of research tools that index

primary reference sources for family historians, or, ideally, contain a copy of the information

held in those sources.

The collection emphasises South Australian and Australian indexes to birth, death, marriage,

probate and similar records, augmented by indexes from primary countries-of-origin, where

these can be obtained.

The collection also includes passenger and shipping lists, guides, registers, directories,

personal heraldry, bibliographies, collective biographies and histories of surnames.

Material is held in a variety of print, microform and electronic formats (much current

publishing is CD-ROM based). A small number of genealogical periodicals are provided.

Some Internet sites of interest to genealogists are catalogued and appear as menu items on

dedicated Family History computers.

Many other State Library resources augment the collection. Family historians use archival

records, such as church baptismal records, extensively (generally through surrogate copies of

the original records). Maps, photographs, shipping registers, postal and telephone directories

and electoral rolls are also extensively used.

Collecting Intentions

South Australian and Australian primary records relevant to family history, and related indexes, will continue to be the major priorities. The range of overseas material of interest to South Australian researchers will be expanded. Electronic formats will generally be preferred (subject to assessment and consideration of cost and access requirements). Some core resources may be purchased in more than one format. Development of online family history resources, including resources that require an annual subscription, will be actively monitored and these will be made available to researchers when content, affordability and reliability of access justify this. Where they are available, records of interest to our Indigenous population will be actively acquired. All offers of donated indexes and other resources that would assist South Australian family history research will be seriously considered. Exclusions

Published family histories are generally not acquired unless they relate particularly to South Australian families (in which case they are generally acquired through legal deposit, commonly with a second “use” copy donated) and are located in the South Australiana Collection.

44

RARE BOOKS A rare book may be defined as one which because of its age, its format, its limited print run, its association, or the number of copies that have survived, has become a scarce and valued item requiring particular care in both use and preservation. The Rare Books collection is the major collection of its kind in South Australia. It brings together selected rare material, ensuring that it is preserved and made available to both researchers and the general community. Formal identification and separation of such material from the general reference collection began in the 1940s, although some particularly valuable works, such as those by John Gould, were segregated from the time of acquisition in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The three principal means of acquisition are donation, purchase, and the transfer of items from the General Reference Collection when identified as rare or significant. Rare and valuable items may attract a tax benefit through the Australian Taxation Office’s Cultural Gifts Program. These require valuation by appropriately registered valuers. The State Library will assist the donor in this process, but cannot pay valuer fees (which are tax-deductible). The support of the Friends of the State Library in building the rare book component of the collections has been an important aspect of collection development. Categories for inclusion in the collections include:

° Non-South Australian manuscripts

° Items printed anywhere in the world before 1801

° Items of Australian interest, and second copies of items of South Australian interest,

printed anywhere before 1901

° Items printed in an edition of 500 copies or less

° Items over a given value, adjusted for inflation.

Other appropriate items may be included on an individual basis. All items in the collection must be consulted in the Mabel Somerville Reading Room. Some particularly rare and valuable materials may only be accessed by prior arrangement, requiring twenty-four hours notice.

Client groups

Client groups include students, researchers, and other specialists such as journalists, book designers and artists, especially calligraphers, as well as the general community. Collecting intentions

The collection supports several major subject strengths and will be added to, principally by

donation.

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The collection acquires rare and valuable items in the areas of:

° Material reflecting the history of the written word and of book production, both

manuscript and printed

° Australiana, including Australian anthropology

° Natural history, particularly of the 18th and 19th centuries

° Wine and food

° Ships and shipping.

Examples of the following are also acquired:

° Forms of the book from a variety of cultures

° Manuscript hands - mainly through leaves rather than complete books

° Books and leaves important in or representative of the history of book production from

earliest times to the present - including examples of type design, book illustration, and

bindings, with a good coverage of private presses up to the present day, particularly

Australian private presses.

The main emphasis has been on Europe and Australia, but Asian material is now also actively

sought. Appropriate titles in all these areas are acquired in languages other than English.

Materials in other subjects are added as appropriate.

Exact duplicates are not generally collected, unless the copy already held is in poor condition,

and then the preference is to acquire through donation rather than purchase.

Duplicates of items produced before 1801 may be acquired because of variations that can

occur in hand-printed books, preferably through donation. Variant issues and other editions

may be collected.

Realia* is generally not collected.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

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CHILDREN'S LITERATURE RESEARCH COLLECTION The collection includes current and retrospective children's books and related material that have contributed to the cultural heritage of children in Australia. The main emphasis has been on publishing from Australia, Great Britain and the United States of America; materials from Europe and Asia have also been acquired. Languages other than English are also represented. The collection includes materials such as penny dreadfuls, comics, posters, printed games, greeting cards, paper dolls and other ephemera relating to childhood, as well as realia such as lead animals, tops, and wooden puzzles, and other non-print materials, including spoken word and music recordings. Microform copies of rare items have also been acquired. Schoolbooks from past centuries have always been collected but, more recently, textbooks for Australian children dating from the late 19th century have been represented. The reference books and periodicals collection includes books, bibliographies, indexes, periodicals and other materials on children's literature. The principal means of acquisition is by donation; however, some items are purchased, including purchases made with funds from the Hutchinson bequest. In addition many rare books have been bought by the Friends of the State Library and by the late Mrs Dorothy Mortlock. All items in the collection must be retrieved for consultation in the Mabel Somerville Reading Room. Some particularly rare and valuable materials may only be accessed by prior arrangement, requiring twenty-four hours notice. Client groups

In addition to the general community, specialist clients include researchers, lecturers and students (tertiary and secondary), television and theatre producers, set designers, authors, booksellers, librarians and illustrators.

Collecting intentions

Emphasis is placed on children's books published in Australia; children's fiction; traditional literature; children's classics, poetry and song books; illustrated children's books, especially picture books for young children and novelty books; award winners from Australia and overseas; and children's periodicals and encyclopedias. Rare items are also acquired for this section. Duplicates are not included but variant editions may be collected. All material offered for donation will be assessed in accordance with the Donations Policy (p. 50). Discrete collections requiring separate storage will only be accepted under exceptional circumstances. Realia*, including small toys, games and puzzles may be collected if they complement existing collections and if storage, conservation and other requirements are manageable.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

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NAMED COLLECTIONS The Named Collections include many of the major non-South Australian collection strengths. The majority were presented to the State Library by their creators, and usually reflect the expertise of the donor in a particular field. Others have been created from funds specifically given for the purpose, and may bear the donor's name. Some of the major collections are closed (are not being added to). Others may attract future donations of appropriate like material. Much of the material in these collections is in closed access and must be consulted in the Mabel Somerville Reading Room. Some particularly rare and valuable materials may only be accessed by prior arrangement, possibly requiring up to twenty-four hours notice. Client groups

General clients, students, researchers, genealogists, anyone with a special interest in wine, food, ships and the sea, Australian Aboriginal studies, book production and fine printing, and certain types of popular music.

Notable Named Collections

The Sir Josiah Symon Library

This was the first large named collection, received as a bequest in 1935. Sir Josiah was a lawyer and a politician, one of the architects of the Federal Constitution. His library of some 7,500 volumes reflects his particular interest in Shakespeare, travel, history and biography. One of the conditions of the bequest was that the books should not be marked or rebound, which makes it a useful source of examples of original bindings, particularly in pictorial cloth. It was a collection for family reading, and is a fine example of what a private library could be in South Australia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its integrity is maintained, and there have been no subsequent additions.

Anthropological collections

The 1995 policy document described a number of significant anthropological archival collections under this heading, including the Mountford-Sheard Collection. These have since been absorbed into the Archival Collections.

Wine Collections

Thomas Hardy Wine Library

This is developed with annual grants from BRL Hardy and the Hardy family. It aims to be current in the information it provides, but not highly technical, and covers vine growing and winemaking throughout the world. Donations of appropriate materials are accepted in accordance with the Donations Policy (p. 50). Titles in other languages are acquired as relevant. The majority of the collection is on open access. Some older, rare or valuable items require retrieval from storage; and some can only be consulted in the Mabel Somerville Reading Room.

The Cellarmaster Collection of Rare Wine Books

This is a closed collection created by a director of Cellarmaster Wines. It is an example of a donation made because of the State Library’s recognised excellence in a particular subject area. It contains some valuable early printed items on wine, as well as material in other languages.

48

The wine collections are supplemented by collections of wine labels and menus from interstate and around the world. These are collected selectively.

Maritime Collections

Paul McGuire Maritime Library

This was established through the generosity of the late Mrs Margaret McGuire. The collection largely consists of current material on naval history and merchant shipping. Periodicals are acquired, also manuscripts and the occasional antiquarian item. It does not generally duplicate items acquired for other collections. A sub-group within this library, the Thomas Walter Hardy America's Cup Collection, which focuses on racing yachts, is supported by the Hardy family. Donations of appropriate materials are accepted in accordance with the Donations Policy (p. 50). The majority of the collection is on open access. Some older, rare or valuable items require retrieval from storage; and some must be consulted in the Mabel Somerville Reading Room. The Maritime collections are supported by a number of Archival record groups which were described as named collections in the 1995 policy. These are principally pictorial, and include the A.D. Edwardes Collection, H. A. Godson Collection of River Murray Shipping and A.L. Arbon-R.R. Le-Maistre Collection.

Popular music

The Purches Collection

This consists of approximately 20,000 disks, mainly 78 rpm, and 400 wax cylinders. The recordings are predominantly jazz, with some South Australian content, collected over 40 years, and donated in 1977. It includes an almost complete collection of pressings by famous performers such as Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Al Jolson, and much of the substantial output of singers such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. The collection has also been added to by material donated by the late Ron Harms.

Except for South Australiana, collection of popular music recordings of this kind is no longer a

priority.

Other named collections

There are at least 30 other named collections, many of which are relatively small and specialised (often consisting of photographs and slides). To facilitate storage management and to simplify retrieval, several smaller named collections have been integrated into general collections. These include the Carnegie, Koshnitsky and Hantken Collections. The catalogue record for items from these collections includes a note to enable them to be identified and listed.

Collecting intentions

The named collections that are actively being developed are funded by bequests or are being added to by the donor (as part of an existing donor agreement). The primary subject areas are the Wine and Maritime collections described above. All prospective donations will be assessed to establish their appropriateness for inclusion. Offers will be managed in accordance with the Donations Policy (p. 50).

49

Discrete* special collections will only be accepted and retained as distinct collections under exceptional circumstances. It is preferred to integrate items into larger collections for ease of storage and access. Offers of funding to develop additional named collections on other subjects will be considered. Realia* is only collected if it is an essential, integrated, and relevant part of a significant collection of library materials. * See Glossary, Appendix Five

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DONATIONS POLICY All prospective donations are assessed using the Collection Development Policy and with storage, processing, conservation, preservation and reformatting requirements also considered. Donations of non-duplicate published South Australiana are generally accepted. Duplicate copies will not be added to the collection, unless a high level of use is expected. Items in poor physical condition will not be accepted unless they are sufficiently significant to justify the cost of repair and conservation. Donations with unmanageable conditions (such as indefinite restrictions on access or a requirement that published material be retained as a discrete collection) will generally not be accepted. Long term loans and arrangements under which the donor has ongoing access for business purposes are also not accepted. Donated items will be placed in the most appropriate open or closed access collection and may be kept offsite. Donations may be exhibited from time to time in accordance with preservation principles, but will generally not be accepted if a condition is that they will be on permanent display. Except where material is received anonymously, an appraisal receipt form will be provided to donors. This will record whether unwanted material must be returned in which case this will be done as expeditiously as possible. The State Library reserves the right to dispose of any material which not required by the donor, or which is not accompanied by an appraisal receipt form. It is not possible for Collection Development staff to provide an immediate assessment of prospective donations, except by appointment. Legal agreements are generally not required for published donations unless it is necessary to negotiate conditions for display, housing, storage and access. All unpublished material requires a legal agreement. All items accepted as donations are subject to conditions determined by statutory requirements such as copyright legislation and – for archival records - by any restrictions on access, copying and publishing agreed between the State Library and the donor. Donations of published material that is not intended for the South Australian preservation collection will not be acknowledged unless requested (and providing a mailing address is supplied). If possible, owners of material that is not accepted will be directed to suitable alternative repositories. Ongoing non-preservation serial donations may be cancelled and assessed for withdrawal if retrieval or reshelving statistics indicate that they are not being used. Once a donation is formally accepted, and accessioned, it becomes the property of the Libraries Board which holds it on behalf of the Crown.

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WITHDRAWAL OF LIBRARY MATERIALS Withdrawal* relates only to library materials that have been formally accessioned*. To ensure that storage and preservation resources are available for priority materials it is necessary to maintain an active, ongoing withdrawal program for materials that have little or no residual information value to offset their significant storage and preservation costs. The following categories of material will not be withdrawn:

° All items that have been received through legal deposit

° All formally accepted donated South Australian archival and published material - unless

the donor formally approves withdrawal

° Non-South Australian donated items that have been formally accepted - including

materials from donated discrete named collections - unless the donor formally approves

withdrawal. (In exceptional circumstances material in this category may be withdrawn

without donor approval. See the statement on this on page 52.)

° Materials with significant ongoing information value, not readily accessible by other

means, providing storage and preservation remain manageable

° Materials that are not held elsewhere in Australia, providing they have some ongoing

information value and storage and preservation requirements are manageable.

Materials that may be withdrawn

Materials that may be withdrawn include the following categories:

Duplicate copies

Duplicate copies of non-preservation material will generally be withdrawn unless levels of use

continue to warrant retention of multiple copies.

Alternative format non-South Australian newspapers

To save a significant amount of storage space - and eliminate the need to wrap, retrieve and rewrap back issues - hard copy non-South Australian newspapers are withdrawn when an easier to store and use alternative format is acquired.

Interstate provincial newspapers

For space reasons most minor interstate provincial newspapers are progressively withdrawn. These papers are provided for current reading purposes only and are often donated. Past use surveys show minimal use of older issues of these titles and the preservation responsibility rests with the deposit libraries of the state or territory of origin.

Superseded Reference Library material

This category includes:

° Regularly updated directories, handbooks, timetables and guides that contain information

that is useful when current and where back issues are not required for historical

information

° Material whose content is now readily accessible online (such as British Patents after 1920

and much international deposit material)

° Superseded CD-ROM disks or titles that are no longer accessible because of operating

software or hardware changes or because of copyright constraints.

Published material in Archival collections

Published material located in Archival collections will generally be transferred to published

collections but may be withdrawn if it is a duplicate or is otherwise not required.

* See Glossary, Appendix Five

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Inappropriate accessions

The General Reference collections contain many single issues or short runs of titles that were

received as part of deposit, donation or exchange programs in the past and that have little or

no residual information value, are held elsewhere and occupy valuable storage space. These

are routinely withdrawn.

Rationalisation of titles duplicated in other libraries

The State Library will work cooperatively with other libraries to rationalise duplicate holdings of certain space-intensive low-use materials, such as overseas newspapers and ceased periodicals. This will ensure that last copies are retained while gaining significant storage space for future collection growth. Originals of reformatted material which is no longer accessible

Material (including heritage material) that has been copied to another format may be disposed of if it has physically deteriorated to the point of being inaccessible. Decomposed nitrate film is an example of this category.

Withdrawal without donor approval

Donated material that has unmanageable storage and preservation requirements and is now clearly outside the scope of Collection Development Policy will be withdrawn. The State Library will seek approval from the donor, or the donor’s descendants, before withdrawing this material. If the donor or the donor’s descendants cannot be located after a reasonable search, approval from the Libraries Board to withdraw this material will be sought. If this is granted, a notice will be placed in the South Australian Government Gazette prior to withdrawal.

Methods of disposal

Withdrawn donated material will be returned to the donor if the donor is known and this is the stated preference. Where primary responsibility for preservation of withdrawn published material rests with other institutions, it will be offered to these to augment their preservation collections. If this option is not available, withdrawn materials will be offered to other collecting institutions which have an interest in acquiring them, if these can be identified. Other surplus published material with some residual market value may be sold (in accordance with Department of Administrative and Information Services guidelines on disposal of government assets). Proceeds will be used for ongoing collection development and other core library programs. It may be necessary to destroy some withdrawn materials - such as hazardous film which requires incineration. Large volumes of paper materials may be pulped to recoup some part of the disposal costs and minimize the environmental impact of disposal. Withdrawn material will only be dumped if no other disposal method is practicable.

Ongoing withdrawal program

An ongoing program of assessment of materials for disposal or retention is being

implemented. This will use a standardised assessment methodology and will target materials

with large storage requirements that also fit the criteria for withdrawal specified in this policy.

Assessment, debiting, relocating or repatriation/disposal/destruction of material will require

significant ongoing staff time and associated costs (which are not currently funded), but this

program will ensure that storage space available for priority collection materials is maximised.

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Appendix One

Archival appraisal

Appraisal involves assigning one of the following categories to unpublished material on offer:

Essential

These are considered to be major sources of unique primary research material on a topic for which a high level of demand among researchers exists, or that are of state or national significance and not already well covered by other material in the collection. They will generally be accepted regardless of current arrangement and housing, and may also be accepted regardless of conservation, processing and storage requirements and access, copying and publication constraints unless these are clearly unmanageable. They will be assigned a high priority for processing. Very few records will qualify for this category. Significant

These are considered to be sources of considerable primary research material on a topic requiring additional coverage. They will generally be accepted if conservation, processing and storage requirements and access, copying and publication constraints are manageable. They will be assigned a medium priority for processing.

Minor interest

These relate to a topic well covered by other material in the collection or for which little or no

demand exists.

They will only be accepted if conservation, processing and storage needs and access, copying

and publication constraints are minimal.

They will be assigned a low priority for processing. This may mean a long delay until this

material is processed.

Not required

Records that do not have sufficient information value relative to conservation, processing and storage requirements, or material that is primarily not about South Australia and/or primarily published and/or primarily government archival records. Past use statistics for similar material (if available) may also be considered in determining whether minor interest material is accepted.

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Appendix Two

Activity analysis of archival record groups

The majority of records are grouped as Business Record Groups, Private Record Groups or Society Record Groups. An activity categorisation of processed archival record groups, using the Australian & New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification scheme, was carried out in November 2004, to identify areas for targeted collection development. This analysis is limited because the ANZSIC scheme focuses very much on economic activity, particularly in relation to products and services. The analysis is useful for business records and for records of individuals and social groups essentially associated with an economic activity or service categorised by ANZSIC, but much social-historical activity is not classifiable using this scheme. Several additional divisions were devised to account for some activities not classifiable by ANZSIC, particularly those associated with individual and family record groups. Despite the limitations of the scheme, it is possible to form a picture of the archival record groups in terms of a wide variety of activities.

Business Private Society Total

Record Record Record

Groups Groups Groups

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 45 22 5 72

Mining 25 15 0 40

Manufacturing 95 38 16 149

Electricity, gas & water supply 2 0 0 2

Construction 4 8 13 25

Wholesale trade 9 5 6 20

Retail trade 30 6 1 37

Accommodation, cafes & restaurants 7 3 0 10

Transport & Storage 10 66 6 82

Communication Services 0 12 0 12

Finance & insurance 22 0 8 31

Property & business services 53 90 10 152

Government administration & Defence 1 128 4 133

Education 1 23 50 74

Health & Community services 4 20 41 65

Cultural & Recreational Services 6 144 70 220

Sport & Recreation 2 6 100 108

Personal and Other Services 8 90 390 488

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Personal and Other Services

This includes religions, community groups, political parties and single-issue political

groups. It can be further broken down as follows:

Business Private Society Total

Record Record Record

Groups Groups Groups

Personal Services (includes Funeral

Directors, Hairdressers, etc) 7 0 2 9

Religious Organisations 0 52 37 89

Interest Groups (includes Political

Parties) 0 9 35 44

Business & Professional Associations 1 2 41 44

Labour Associations 0 2 25 27

Other Associations 0 14 242* 256

Public Order & Safety Services 0 11 6 17

* Includes service clubs (14 record groups), friendly societies (18 record groups), local

community groups (36 record groups), women’s organisations (31 record groups),

philosophical & scientific societies (22 record groups) and historical societies & memorial

groups (24 record groups).

Other activities

(Not sourced from ANZSIC)

Personal & family papers 0 531 0 531

Historical & pictorial (varied or non- 8 88 0 96

specific activities)

Immigration 8 11 0 19

Total 340 1306 720 2366

The activity analysis suggests a lack of coverage of Electricity, Gas and Water Supply and Communications Services although these services have largely been provided by state and local government bodies, which are the responsibility of State Records. Coverage of the migrant experience is also clearly in need of development. Non-Christian religions have virtually no coverage. Social groups, sporting clubs, friendly societies and service clubs are well represented. The agricultural, past0ral and wine industries are well represented. Some manufacturing industries, particularly the automotive and white-goods industries are well represented. Virtually no material on computing, defence and other high technology industries is held. This is to be expected because business records are typically only offered once they are no longer required for ongoing business activity or when a company has been wound up. Records related to these activities may also be commercially sensitive or subject to restrictions of various kinds.

56

Appendix Three

Recent general collection development for major material types

Total Received 2004/05 Monographs (books and pamphlets): 870,000 4890* Serial titles: 12,500 2450** Newspaper titles: 566 134*** * 33% government deposit and donations ** 55% donated or government agency deposit titles *** 48% donated

Monograph purchases Monograph purchases have averaged around 5,000 titles per year since 1993/94, although somewhat higher for the years 1999/00 to 2003/04, when trust funds were provided to support purchasing. Anticipated purchase for 2005/06: 3,800.

Gen era l collect ion m on ogra ph pu rch a ses

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

93/9

4

94/9

5

95/9

6

96/9

7

97/9

8

98/9

9

99/0

0

00/0

1

01/0

2

02/0

3

03/0

4

04/0

5

Print periodical subscriptions The number of active print periodical subscriptions (not standing orders) has reduced from 1010 in 1993/04 to 551 in 2003/04, a decrease of 45%.

SLSA periodica l su bscript ion s

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

93/9

4

94/9

5

95/9

6

96/9

7

97/9

8

98/9

9

99/0

0

00/0

1

01/0

2

02/0

3

03/0

4

04/0

5

Electronic subscriptions Electronic subscriptions accounted for 25% of the general materials budget in 2004/05, having been at around 19% since 1996/97.

Percentage of SLSA m aterials budget spent on

databases

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

92/9

3

93/9

4

94/9

5

95/9

6

96/9

7

97/9

8

98/9

9

99/0

0

00/0

1

01/0

2

02/0

3

03/0

4

04/0

5

Newspaper subscription expenditure Expenditure on newspapers has increased by 50% since 1993/94, despite a 10% reduction in the number of titles purchased. Newspapers now account for 18% of the total budget.

SLSA expenditure on newspapers

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

93/9

4

94/9

5

95/9

6

96/9

7

97/9

8

98/9

9

99/0

0

00/0

1

01/0

2

02/0

3

03/0

4

04/0

5

57

Appendix Four

Conspectus

Conspectus is an instrument for libraries to describe collection strengths and current and

desired collecting levels using alpha-numeric codes. A Conspectus of all State Library

collections was carried out in the early 1990s. The results are summarised in the 1995

Collection Development Policy.

Carrying out a new Conspectus in preparation for this revised policy document was deemed

unlikely to yield significant new information about collection strengths and weaknesses to

justify the substantial staff time required.

In general, Conspectus terminology has been avoided in this document. Those with an interest

in the State Library’s category level Conspectus collection level indicators can view these via

the Australian Libraries Gateway at http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/libraries. [Enter the name

State Library of South Australia or the NUC symbol SSL.]

58

Appendix Five

Glossary

Accessioning – The act of recording the receipt of material into a library or archival collection. This may be recorded using an order or checkin record in an integrated library management system or in a manual or automated accessions register for archival material. Aggregator - A service that gathers information published by different sources and organises it together under a common search interface. The aggregator may also license access to a collection of journals from many different publishers. Appraisal – The process of analysing archival records and selecting those that are suitable for retention. Archival records – Original records assembled in the course of the activities of a person or persons or a public organisation and selected for permanent retention because of the retrospective or archival values they are perceived to possess. Consortia- Resource sharing organisations formed by libraries. Deposit – Placing publications from a particular publisher (usually a government or international organisation or agency) in a library so that they may be made available to the public. Discrete collections – Fully formed collections intended to be retained in their entirety at a single location. Geographical Information Systems – GIS - Technology based systems that combine layers of geographic data to offer a greater understanding of the characteristics of places. Formats include Shapefiles (a set of files that contain a set of points, arcs, or polygons that hold tabular data and a spatial location) and Geodatabases (that represent geographic features and attributes as objects and are hosted inside a relation database management system). Legal deposit – A method whereby certain libraries are entitled by legislation to receive one or more copies of every book or other publication printed or published in a defined country, state or province. Monograph - A non-serial work, complete in one part or set, usually on a narrowly defined single topic, for example, a book or pamphlet (as opposed to a serial). Portable document format (PDF) – Commonly used format for scanning and viewing documents, generally using Adobe Acrobat software. Raster - Also referred to as bitmap images - images that are represented by a sequence of pixels (picture elements) or points, each pixel containing a single value, which when taken together, describe the display of an image on an output device. Many different raster image formats are in use, among them GIF, JPEG, JPEG2000, PDF, BSB PCX, and TIFF files. Realia – Three dimensional objects including toys, games and items of costume. Serial – Any publication issued in successive parts, appearing at intervals, usually regular ones, and, as a rule, intended to be continued indefinitely. Serial publications are commonly only available on a subscription basis, requiring pre-payment. Withdrawal –Removing material that has previously been accessioned from library or archival collections, sometimes referred to as debiting or de-accessioning. Withdrawal requires an assessment process and a range of de-accessioning processes including adjusting catalogue records or archival collection descriptions, modifying accession registers, removing holdings from union lists, cancellation stamping, and a range of disposal alternatives.

59

Appendix Six

Freedom of access to information

The State Library endorses the Australian Library and Information Association’s statement on

freedom of access to information:

The Australian Library and Information Association believes that library and information

services have particular responsibilities in supporting and sustaining the free flow of

information and ideas including:

1. asserting the equal and equitable rights of citizens to information regardless of age,

race, gender, religion, disability, cultural identity, language, socioeconomic status,

lifestyle choice, political allegiance or social viewpoint;

2. adopting an inclusive approach in developing and implementing policies regarding

access to information and ideas that are relevant to the library and information

service concerned, irrespective of the controversial nature of the information or ideas;

3. ensuring that their clients have access to information from a variety of sources and

agencies to meet their needs and that a citizen's information needs are met

independently of location and an ability to pay;

4. catering for interest in contemporary issues without promoting or suppressing

particular beliefs and ideas;

5. protecting the confidential relationships that exist between the library and

information service and its clients;

6. resisting attempts by individuals or groups within their communities to restrict access

to information and ideas while at the same time recognising that powers of censorship

are legally vested in state and federal governments;

7. observing laws and regulations governing access to information and ideas but

working towards the amendment of those laws and regulations which inhibit library

and information services in meeting the obligations and responsibilities outlined in

this Statement.

http://www.alia.org.au/policies/free.access.html

The State Library will not exercise censorship in the selection of materials by rejecting on

moral, political, racial or religious grounds material which is otherwise relevant and which

meets standards such as historical importance, intellectual integrity, and effectiveness of

expression or accuracy of information.

60

Index

Abstracts 25 Agriculture 28 Angas Collection 17 Anthropology 28 Arbon-Le Maistre Collection 48 Architecture 28 Archival appraisal 53 Archival South Australiana 18 Archival Collection 20 Art 28 Audio visual 26 Audio visual South Australiana 12 Bank of South Australia Collection 17 Bibliographies 31 Biological sciences 28 Born-digital 13 Business 29 Chemistry 29 Chess 34 Cellarmaster collection 47 Children’s Literature Research Collection 46 Commerce 29 Computing science 29 Consortia 37 Conspectus 57 Disposal of withdrawn materials 52 Donations 50 Earth sciences 31 Economics 29 Education 30 Electronic books 36 Electronic books (South Australian) 8 Electronic information 36 Electronic journals 36 Encyclopedias 31 Engineering 30 English Language Learning and Improvement Service (ELLIS) 32 Ephemera (South Australian) 11 11 Family history 43 Freedom of access to information 59 F. W. Preece Collection 17 Geography 31 Geospatial 38 Geospatial South Australiana 15 Glossary 58 Godson Collection 20 Gouger Collection 17 Government publications 41 Griffin Press Collection 17 Hantken collection 48 Hassell Press Collection 17 History 32 Indexes 31 J.D. Somerville Oral History Collection 23 Koshnitsky Collection 48

Languages 32 Languages other than English 27, 32 Law 33 Legal deposit 6 Libraries Act 6 Libraries Board 6 Library science 31 Literature 32 Management 29 Maps 38 Maps (South Australian) 15 Maritime 29, 48 Mathematics 33 Medicine 33 Menus 48 Monographs (South Australian) 8 Mountford Collection 20, 47 Music 33 Named collections 47 Named South Australiana collections 17 Newspapers 0 Newspapers (South Australian) 9 Non print (south Australiana) 12 Online South Australiana 13 Oral history 23 PANDORA 13 Patents 30 Paul McGuire Maritime Library 48 Performing arts 34 Periodicals (general) 31 Philosophy 34 Physical education 34 Physical sciences 34 Pictorial collections 22 Political sciences 35 Psychology 35 Published South Australiana 6 Purches Collection 48 Queen Adelaide Collection 17 Rare books 44 Realia 49 Recreation 34 Religion 34 Searcy Collection 20 Serials (South Australian) 10 Ships and Shipping 29, 48 Sir Josiah Symon Library 47 Sociology 35 Somerville Collection 23 Sport 34 Standards 30 Technology 30 Thomas Hardy Wine Library 47 Wine 47 Wine labels 48 Withdrawal of library materials* 51